Plays of the 21st Century: A Personal Year-by-Year List

Sometimes one needs to fiscally recalibrate. I’m about to change jobs, which has necessitated a reassessment of my monthly outgoings. In my heart I knew the numbers would probably uncover an unpalatable truth and I was not wrong. On average I have spent £2000 a year on theatre for at least the past three years. Cue intense face-palming on my part and a brief affinity with Carrie Bradshaw and her shoes. My father, to his great credit, texted me that it was ‘a good use of money’ — a sentiment I’m not sure would be shared by others. But frankly, I don’t know what else I would have spent my money on. I love plays — they are wondrous creatures both on and off the page. A curious mixture of speech, image, poetry, choreography and silence. So to (very, very dubiously) put my money to good use I thought I’d combine this pursuit with another — the art of the list. Yes! I’ve scoured my brain (and the internet) to find my favourite plays of the 21st Century picking one for every year 2000–2017 including some notable mentions. Rules are it has to be an original, single authored play written firstly in the English language. Subjectivity breeds fallibility so I apologise in advance for the glaring omissions — as always with these things, it’s fun but futile!

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln & Bill Nighy in the original production of Blue/Orange at the National Theatre, London. Image from here.

2000

BLUE/ORANGE by Joe Penhall
A bullseye of a play capturing the intersection of mental health, race and the infuriating bureaucracy of the NHS. The arguments are so crystal clear you could eat your dinner off them.
Notable mentions:
Vincent River by Philip Ridley
Far Away by Caryl Churchill

Don Cheadle & Jeffrey Wright in the original production of Topdog/Underdog at the Public Theatre, NYC. Image from here.

2001

TOPDOG/UNDERDOG by Suzan-Lori Parks
A mini-masterpiece and poetic microcosm of America featuring two abandoned brothers dependent only on each other for emotional survival. Thrilling and invigorating.
Notable mention:
Herons by Simon Stephens

Daniel Craig & Michael Gambon in the original production of A Number at the Royal Court Theatre, London. Image from here.

2002

A NUMBER by Caryl Churchill
The weighty theme of the ethics of artificial intelligence is worn ever so lightly in this haunting play about a father attempting to enumerate his sons. The writing is like a knife in the brain.
Notable mentions:
The Coast of Utopia by Tom Stoppard
Dinner by Moira Buffini

David Tennant & Jim Broadbent in the original production of The Pillowman at the National Theatre, London. Image from here.

2003

THE PILLOWMAN by Martin McDonagh
This dark story of a writer implicated in a series of child murders remains a cult favourite in all its twisted glory.
Notable mentions:
Elmina’s Kitchen by Kwame Kwei-Armah
Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage

Christine Entwisle in the original production of The Wonderful World of Dissocia at the Edinburgh International Festival. Image from here.

2004

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISSOCIA by Anthony Neilson
Two halves that make a broken but beautiful whole — Neilson’s play is a life-affirming trip through mental illness without a stick of sentiment in sight.
Notable mention:
The History Boys by Alan Bennett

Sam Rockwell & John Ortiz in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot in the original production at the Public Theatre, NYC. Image from here.

2005

THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT by Stephen Adly Guirgis
A wild, contemporary retelling of the Judas myth which manages to plumb extraordinary spiritual depths.
Notable mention:
Mercury Fur by Philip Ridley

from l-r: Jim Norton, Ron Cook, Conleth Hill & Michael McElhatton in the original production of The Seafarer when it transferred to the Lowry Theatre, Manchester. Image from here.

2006

THE SEAFARER by Conor McPherson
Amidst the familiarity of the drinking, the poker and the recriminations there is surprise in McPherson’s magical realist drama that never fails to catch my breath.
Notable mention:
Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire.

Jeff Perry & Amy Morgan in the original production of August: Osage County at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago. Image from here.

2007

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY by Tracy Letts
Though it’s conceived with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, what a bloody sledgehammer. This is one helluva persuasive piece of drama.
Notable mention:
Harper Regan by Simon Stephens

Nadine Marshall in the original production of random at the Royal Court Theatre, London. Image from here.

2008

random by debbie tucker green
The poetess of the everyday stunned with this solo show about a woman whose life is interrupted by a senseless tragedy. Superlative.
Notable mention:
This Wide Night by Chloe Moss

Prentice Onayemi & Mikeah Ernest Jennings in the original production of The Shipment at The Kitchen, NYC. Image from here.

2009

THE SHIPMENT by Young Jean Lee
A hilariously dizzying and dazzling confrontation about race. The satirising of white people in the second act is just too brilliant.
Notable mentions:
Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth
Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts I, II & III by Suzan-Lori Parks

from l-r: Frank Wood, Christina Kirk, Crystal A. Dickinson & Damon Gupton in the original production of Clybourne Park at Playwrights Horizons, NYC. Image from here.

2010

CLYBOURNE PARK by Bruce Norris
It’s one thing having an idea, it’s quite another pulling it off. Norris’ pomo satire on race and gentrification is a pure shot of dramatic ecstasy. And it features the best joke ever told onstage.
Notable mention:
Tribes by Nina Raine

Frances McDormand in the original production of Good People at the Manhattan Theatre Club, NYC. Image from here.

2011

GOOD PEOPLE by David Lindsay-Abaire
A fantastically empathetic portrayal of a woman fighting class prejudice in Boston. Lindsay-Abaire perfectly skewers the wealth gap in America.
Notable mentions:
Wastwater by Simon Stephens
The Motherfucker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis

The ensemble in the original production of Mr Burns at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington DC. Image from here.

2012

MR BURNS: A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY by Anne Washburn
A total one-off about stories becoming myth by osmosis and how such narratives produce forces that shape our world. Truly electrifying.
Notable mentions:
We Are Proud to Present… by Jackie Sibblies Drury
Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar

Louisa Krause & Aaron Clifton Moten in the original production of The Flick at Playwrights Horizons, NYC. Image from here.

2013

THE FLICK by Annie Baker
A heartbreak of a play about unrequited love and difficult friendships. A breath of fresh air that makes a virtue of mundanity. Magic.
Notable mentions:
The Nether by Jennifer Haley
The Events by David Greig
Chimerica by Lucy Kirkwood

from l-r: Sarah Middleton, Rebecca Humphries Fay & Guy Rhys Zeppo in the original production of Pomona at the Orange Tree Theatre, London. Image from here.

2014

POMONA by Alistair McDowall
Theatre as Rubik’s cube — McDowall’s circular dystopia was a marvellous study of human isolation and desperation.
Notable mentions:
King Charles III by Mike Bartlett
The Body of an American by Dan O’Brien

Andrew Sheridan & Matthew Tennyson in the original production of A Breakfast of Eels at the Print Room, London. Image from here.

2015

A BREAKFAST OF EELS by Robert Holman
God what to say about this play. It’s a precise dagger into the heart of our inability to communicate pain to our loved ones. Unforgettable.
Notable mentions:
People, Places & Things by Duncan Macmillan
Harrogate by Al Smith

Deborah Findlay & Francesca Annis in the original production of The Children at the Royal Court Theatre, London. Image from here.

2016

THE CHILDREN by Lucy Kirkwood
Deceptively simple, Kirkwood’s play deals expertly with the biggest question the human race faces about whether we are prepared to sacrifice ourselves for the environment.
Notable mentions:
Boy by Leo Butler
Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill

Laura Donnelly in the original production of The Ferryman at the Royal Court Theatre, London. Image from here.

2017

THE FERRYMAN by Jez Butterworth
Well we’re only coming up to halfway through the year but I’ll be surprised if a new play tops my experience of seeing Butterworth’s latest opus. A staggeringly accomplished piece of drama that keeps you gasping until the end.
Notable mention:
Wish List by Katherine Soper